Pious Lutheran

Feeding the Five Thousand, Marten van Valckenborch, 1580-1590 Looking at the Unseen We spend too much time looking at the apparent problems Jesus pushes us to see beyond what is seen, so that we may see Him and His providence “What is this country coming to?” “I’m worried my children and grandchildren won’t have anything for them in this country.” I hear sentiments like that with some great regularity. There is much to worry about, or at least it feels like that when you pay enough attention to the news and politicians. But even before things like the news we’re pretty good at worrying. In some ways I think we might actually like worrying and being upset about the state of things, we like to complain and grumble. Afterall, that’s the kind of news we see most often, not because there’s only bad news but because that’s the news which sells and is most profitable. However, it’s not just that bad news sells, it’s also true that bad news is the easiest and most obvious to see. Apparent prob...

The Crucified Christ , Peter Paul Rubens, 1610 God Himself Punished Christ Jesus is not a victim, but a willing sacrifice God punished Jesus, in order to have mercy on us There is a sort of victim mentality in our modern culture. It is popular for people to see themselves as victims of someone or something else. Folks want to be able to say that certain bad things happened to them, and that’s why they have the particular issues that they have. I’m not saying bad things didn’t happen to them, but today people have a desire to see themselves as victims. We don’t have to go into what is influencing this current trend, for now it’s just enough to notice that victimhood is considered a socially advantageous status in our culture.  Now, it’s not particularly healthy to want to see yourself as a victim. It’s not good for you, or for all of the people around you that you’re trying to set up as your oppressors. This is only going to instill grudges in your heart. So recognize that. However,...

The Loving Jesus Chases Demons into Pigs , Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, 1860 Neutrality is not an option This World knows that you must choose a side Jesus demands that we choose a side, and if we’re not with Him then we’re against Him So let us hold onto the Stronger Man and not let Him go Generally speaking, neutrality is not an option in our culture and the world expects us to pick a side. Russia or Ukraine, Israel or Palestine, Trump or Biden, 49ers or the Chiefs. Even if you don’t know anything about the issues or at least not enough to make an informed decision, you’re still expected to choose a side. That’s how this world works because the strong man of this world, the prince of darkness, the devil, knows that “ Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls. ” It’s not so much that the devil wants you to vote for a certain party or support a certain team, rather he wants you to be wholly invested in this world. The decision the devil wants y...

Christ Crucified , 1632, Diego Velazquez Christ’s suffering as payment and sacrifice for sin A debt owed A debt repaid There’s a lot of talk about debt forgiveness today under the topic of student loan forgiveness. Regardless of what you think about that particular political issue, it has at least brought the subject of debt and forgiveness into the national conversation. The controversy of student loan forgiveness boils down to a simple economic principle. When a debt is forgiven, it’s not as though the debt simply disappears, because someone has to pay for that debt. For example, if I hire a plumber to come and fix something at my house, and he sends me a bill for $1,000, I owe him that much money because of the product and service he performed. If I don’t pay him and he forgives my debt, then that means he had to pay for the parts himself and he didn’t get paid for his labor. He had to sacrifice in order to absorb my debt. A similar thing is going on in our relationship with God. Ou...

Christ and the Woman from Canaan, Pieter Lastman, 1617 Prayer is based upon faith in God’s Goodness What is prayer? How do we pray? This season of the church year that we are in, known as Lent, is a penitential season. Meaning, that this is a time for increased meditation on our need for Jesus as our Savior. As such, the church has historically observed Lent with increased almsgiving, increased fasting, and increased praying. Among those three, the only one that really gets much traction among us today is increased prayer. Formally we offer things such as Lenten devotionals so that we might spend more time in Bible study and prayer, and we have midweek services so that again we might spend more time in God’s word and prayer. In order to perhaps further help us pray more regularly, I’d like to spend this sermon speaking quite directly about prayer. Explaining what prayer is and the driving force behind prayer, and also very practically talking about prayer so that we all might have a be...

  The Scourging of Jesus , Lucas Cranach the Elder, 1537 The Obedience of Christ for our Righteousness Jesus is obedient to the Father He is obedient out of love for the Father and for us Freedom and independence has been viewed as a basic human right here in the West for thousands of years. For example, a hallmark of western civilization is a liberal education. Liberal, not meaning the political ideology of the left, but liberal having to do with liberty, freedom. A Liberal education is a broad education meant to help a person live according to his or her freedom. Here in the modern US independence is still considered very important to many people; people want to be free to do what they want, go anywhere, and not be told what to do.  It’s perhaps a bit surprising therefore to hear that Jesus, the Son of God, is obedient! Jesus said: “ I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of Him who sent Me. ” Indeed, Jesus is obedient: “ Being found in human form, ...

Christ Tempted by the Devil,  John Ritto Penniman, 1818 The Battle against Satan Temptation is the weapon of assault God’s Word is the weapon of victory Adam and Eve fell, and we needed to be rescued Jesus is the Victor and our foe is vanquished Christianity in America is often quite tame. It’s seen as gentle and nice, homey, and perhaps a bit kitschy. Going to church is kind of like going to grandma’s house, it’s warm, comfortable, and cozy. Those are good qualities for grandma’s house, but Christianity isn’t soft and gentle. Christianity is warfare; Christianity is the battle against Satan. Don’t be fooled, the devil and his demons are real. There is a real battle against the devil that we are truly fighting. Sometimes we speak as if demons were just metaphorical beings and not actual literal beings. So this needs to be emphasized that demons are real creatures, albeit spiritual and not physical, but real nonetheless. Certain behaviors therefore make people prone to demonic assau...